


Questions and Answers

by highlytrainedfangirl



Series: Queer Avengers [2]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Bisexual!Steve, Bisexual!Tony, Coming Out, Miscommunication, Misunderstandings, Not stony, Press Conference, Slight Internalised Homophobia, Some angst, and an overly-worried pr team, theyre just freinds, though its kinda implied, tony thinks steve is homophobic, use of queer bc steve still identifies as that
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-01
Updated: 2018-03-01
Packaged: 2019-03-25 16:00:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,587
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13838184
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/highlytrainedfangirl/pseuds/highlytrainedfangirl
Summary: Tony jumps to conclusions and believes that Steve is homophobic. Steve is too busy reading up on LGBT history he doesn't even notice.chapter 1 - Tony povchapter 2 - Steve povread part one of the Queer Avengers series for this to make sensePodfic by MidnightMew





	1. Chapter 1

Tony didn’t mean to be a dick. Really, he didn’t. But Steve was not helping.

He wasn’t sure how he had expected Steve to react, but he certainly hadn’t expected him to storm out. He looked like he’d seen a ghost. Tony just wished he could know what was going through the other’s head. Was he shocked? Angry? Disgusted? All of the above?

Of course, Natasha tried to defend Steve, and Tony wanted to believe what she said, but how could he? They had all accepted Steve as a part of the team and – despite the constant old man jokes – it was easy to forget that he had lived a completely different life to all of them. 

Not that the Avengers were examples of normal. 

But the world Steve had been raised in was so far from what others were used to. It was easy to forget that in Steve’s day it had been _illegal_ , and not just marriage, but actually _being gay_.

Maybe Natasha had a point. Maybe he should give Steve another chance. But it was easier said than done. 

Tony had never shied away from his sexuality and he wasn’t given much of a choice about doing so after the press got a hold of some rather incriminating pictures of him and another man. That was years ago and Tony had become accustomed to his personal and public life being one and the same. His sexuality was public knowledge. 

And he couldn’t help but worry over Steve’s reaction. If he froze at merely seeing news about gay couples, how would he react to having one of his fellow Avengers being bisexual? Did he already know? The (many) scandals surrounding Tony somehow still all managed to flood the media and his sexuality had been held against him multiple times by some of the less… tolerant media outlets. 

Tony couldn’t help but become defensive when around Steve. The other man was impossible to read and who knew where he stood. It was exacerbated by the fact that Steve _said nothing_. He had barely spoken to the other Avengers since the incident. The had seen almost nothing of him, an impressive feat considering they all lived in the same building. Every second they weren’t working he disappeared up to his own floor. When they were working Steve kept to himself, seemingly ignoring the others completely. He never even gave a sparing glance at Tony’s cold shoulder. 

It was infuriating.

Every time Natasha caught him staring down the super solider she would scowl at him and subtly shake her head. She stuck strong to her ‘give him a chance’ stance, but he couldn’t help but wonder if she ever doubted herself. Tony doubted himself all the time. Sure, he teased Steve, maybe (definitely) more than necessary, but he still thought he was a good guy. Occasionally, Tony would find himself questioning if he was reading too much into Steve’s actions, but then he would be brushed off again, and the twisting anger returned to his gut. 

 

He let it build for almost two weeks.

 

Until they were trapped together for two hours answering pointless questions from brainless reporters. As much as Tony loved to play a crowd, he could only take so long of sitting through question after question that all translated to ‘so, what’s it like being a superhero?’.

It was tedious on a good day but, wedged between a glaring Natasha and a stoic Steve, it was stressful before the reporters even opened their mouths. 

The first twenty minutes dragged on for a century and it may as well have been German. He would occasionally quip out an answer that garnered a few laughs, but he wasn’t focused on anything coming out of his mouth. He was too buy trying not to glare at Steve while avoiding those launched at him by Natasha (although that may have just been due to her hatred of press conferences). 

When Tony thought his torturous two hours couldn’t get any worse, a nervous looking young man in his twenties addressed Steve, “Captain Rogers, I was curious to know your feeling towards recent developments in LGBT rights, especially compared to the time you grew up in.”

Tony’s heart clenched involuntarily at the question. He would finally be getting an answer, but Tony wasn’t sure he wanted to hear it. To the side of the stage he spotted on of the PR team nervously chewing her lip, echoing Tony’s own sentiments and only reinforcing his concern. 

Beside him, Steve tensed and Tony heard him breathe deeply. 

There was a polite smile painted on Steve’s face and Tony recognised it as the smile for the cameras, the one he used when he was following a script. There was almost certainly another member of the PR team whispering the ‘correct’ response in his ear. Not that the idiots with cameras could tell the difference. All they saw was America’s golden boy.

Tony watched the other man slightly lean towards the microphone to speak, false smile still fixed in place, while his eyes stared into the back of the room, avoiding any eye contact. “I think it is incredible how far rights have progressed, including those of the LGBT community. It was a pleasure to wake up in such a tolerant time.” Those were definitely not Steve’s words. So, the PR team felt the need to intervene after all. Tony struggled not to find disappointed not to finally get a concrete answer. 

But then Steve started talking again. His eyes had dropped to the foot of the stage and he was fiddling with the plastic water cup in front of him. “It really is incredible,” he repeated, but this time, the smile growing across his face was genuine. “It was incredible to wake up and see a world where people have rights that, when I grew up, people couldn’t even dream about. It’s sort of surreal - and definitely in a good way.” He finished with a little nod and Tony felt him relax.

Tony, meanwhile, only became tenser. Steve had clearly gone off script and he had to have been imagining the way his eyes softened and seemed to almost glaze over.

 

Once the conference was completed, Tony couldn’t help the guilt seeping through him. He had been a dick for almost two weeks and it looked like Natasha was right. After Steve had finished speaking she’d given him a satisfied smirk, but he eyes betrayed the anger she felt towards him for the past week and a half. 

His mind was made up, as Tony waited in the small holding room behind the stage for Steve. Thankfully, the last person to follow Steve offstage, Clint, was almost running to escape the room and the two were the only ones left. Tony strolled in, what he hoped was, a casual manner over to the super soldier. 

“Can we have a word, just for a second?”

Steve started at someone talking to him, “um… sure? What’s up?”

He took a breath, “I wanted to apologise for the way I’ve been acting the last week,” Pepper would be so proud to hear him say those words. Maybe he should have recorded the conversation as ‘proof that Tony Stark knows how to say sorry’. “towards you, I mean.”

Steve pulled a confused face and Tony had the sudden realisation that Steve hadn’t been ignoring him on purpose, he genuinely hadn’t noticed Tony’s behaviour. “I’ve been acting like a dick to you ever since last Thursday.” He paused to let Steve work out what he was talking about. When Steve’s eyes widened in understanding, he continued, “I took things a bit too personally.”

At that Tony held out his phone to Steve, having pulled up an article from nine years previously that detailed in initial reaction to the public seeing him with another man. He gave time from Steve to read and process what he was reading. “I’m pretty used to that being public knowledge. I sort of forgot that you probably didn’t know I’m bi.”

The other man remained quiet for a few moments and Tony started to second guess himself. Maybe it was just for the cameras after all. Just because Steve was happy for other LGBT people didn’t mean he would accept _Tony _being bisexual.__

__Just as the panic began to set in, Steve gave a small nod and a bitter smile. “It’s okay Tony. I didn’t realise how I must’ve looked to you guys. I think I went into shock, I wasn’t thinking about what I looked like. A guy from the forties freezing and running off… I would’ve done the same in your position.” Currently, he looked like a kicked puppy and Tony’s guilt only increased. Regardless of what he said, Tony didn’t think Steve had a hateful bone in his body._ _

__Steve momentarily perked up, “I meant all the stuff I said – about LGBT rights.” He handed Tony back his phone with a slightly forced, though far less bitter, smile, “I’m sorry.”_ _

__Tony could only shake his head, “Not your fault. I should’ve known you better.”_ _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I thought I wasn't going to get a chance to write anything else until the weekend, but thanks to a well-timed snow day, here's two whole chapters three days early. I couldn't decide who to focus this on, so the second chapter is the same events from Steve's pov.
> 
> Also Steve is going to keep using the word queer. Partly because that's what hes used to, partly because I am going to get to him seeing people reclaiming the word.


	2. Chapter 2

Steve’s mind was buzzing. New information swarmed inside his skull and he was still struggling to process everything he learned. He had missed so much, and he had so much to catch up on. Especially as everything he missed was apparently considered ‘non-essential’, so SHIELD had no intention of telling him anything. 

Though he focused his quest for knowledge on queer history, he often found himself overlapping into civil rights or feminism and happily delved deeper into every issue or story that came his way. Part of him wished he could have lived through the change, experienced it happening, but another part of him was immeasurably grateful to have been gifted a time where, should he choose, he could live freely and openly. 

It hurt too. Not everything he found was happy, but Steve rejoiced all the same at the unbelievable progress that had been made.

It became a fixation. Steve was so desperate to fill in as much history as possible that he dedicated every waking hour to huddling over a glowing laptop screen, learning everything he could. He knew he was missing things; there was no way he could learn everything at once and he was only even starting with America. 

When he wasn’t pouring over articles and blogs, he found himself trapped inside his mind. Digesting the new information occupied most of his attention. He was able to focus well enough on missions, but knew he was acting more distant than usual. He hoped that no one noticed. As soon as he was given the chance, he fled to the floor at Stark tower that Tony had furnished for him and glued himself once again to the screen.

Steve considered searching libraries or book stores for longer, more detailed information than just jumping from random article to random article. He even looked online at some books that he thought would be interesting. But, he never bought any. As desperately as he wanted them, he couldn’t bring himself to purchase any. How would he explain them to the other Avengers if he ordered them to the tower? It went too far beyond curiosity to justify it as him just wanting to catch up, and as much as Steve respected his teammates, he wasn’t sure he wanted them knowing too much about him just yet. The thought of looking in a real book store or library was terrifying. What if people recognised him? How would they react to Captain America buying multiple books on queer history?

So, he contented himself with what he could access, grateful that he had the internet. 

 

This pattern of working the minimum he could and rushing back to research history carried on for almost two weeks. He was snapped back into focus by a press conference and he knew he had to be fully alert for it – his novelty as the newly-awakened national icon had not yet worn off, and he wasn’t sure if it ever would. He would be bombarded with a ridiculous number of questions from reporters who begged to find out more about their hero, while not really caring at all about anything other than the suit and shield. 

He sat between Clint and Tony, hoping to appear professional. While the other two could both joke with the press and make crude remarks with little repercussion, Steve had a role to fill as a symbol of ‘American values’. So, he sat up straight, smiled politely, and only spoke when he was addressed. 

He endured the expected flurry of questions on his thoughts on the twenty first century. Apparently. they still hadn’t run out of variants of that question. He was asked about everything from Wi-Fi and self-driving cars, to Starbucks and McDonalds. The reporters’ questions were hollow, asked by those looking for something easy to write about and nothing more. He forced himself to remain polite as he spent every second wishing the conference could just be finished.

That was, until a young man, probably the same as Steve when he went into the ice, posed a question. He was obviously nervous, and unlike the others he didn’t seem to be looking for a scoop. He seemed genuinely concerned with whatever Steve’s answer would be. Steve wasn’t sure if that meant he should be nervous too, but he was intrigued all the same. 

“Captain Rogers, I was curious to know your feeling towards recent developments in LGBT rights, especially compared to the time you grew up in.”

Every single muscle in Steve’s body locked up. He should have seen it coming. He should have known someone would ask sooner or later, but it caught him off-guard anyway. What was he supposed to say? He tried to remain calm and told himself that this was what he wanted. He had wanted a chance to talk about everything he had been reading but didn’t know how to broach the subject. Here it was, handed straight to him. 

So why was he panicking?

Everything in his brain screamed to run away, to stay silent, to avoid the question at all costs. The swarm of reporters was filled with dark smirks and glinting eyes, satisfaction radiating as they thought they had finally caught out the precious Captain America. Or perhaps, they thought Captain America would be the one to catch out the poor reporter. 

Taking in a deep breath, he slowed his thoughts, and carefully let it out again just as a voice began whispering in his ear, giving him words to say. It was one of the rare occasions Steve was grateful to have his words dictated to him, at least while he decided what he really wanted to say. 

Smiling his patented Captain America smile, he addressed the crowd as a whole with words from the PR woman in his ear, “I think it is incredible how far rights have progressed, including those of the LGBT community.” He had to remind himself not to use the word ‘queer’. From what he’d read some people could react negatively to the word, and he understood why. “It was a pleasure to wake up in such a tolerant time.” 

The words were true enough, and he considered leaving it at that, but something about the reporter who had asked the question made him want to continue. He had looked nervous but hopeful. He was the first reporter that day Steve had seen who seemed to genuinely want to hear what he, Steve Rogers, thought and Steve couldn’t let him just have some scripted line. 

His eyes dropped from the crowd and he fiddled anxiously with one of the plastic they’d all been given as he began to speak, “It really is incredible.” _Unbelievable, amazing, wonderful._ “It was incredible to wake up and see a world where people have rights that, when I grew up, people couldn’t even dream about.” _Rights that_ I _couldn’t even dream about_. "It’s sort of surreal - and definitely in a good way.”

By the end, he could feel the genuine smile breaking on his face and he didn’t nothing to stop it. It really was surreal. Not just the improved rights, but the fact that Steve was there and able to talk openly about supporting the queer community. He was allowed to just say something like that, to a room full of reporters, and it was acceptable. Most of the gathered crowd seemed to like his answer, giving back small smiles. There were some scowling faces – primarily those that had been smirking at the reporter before – and some looked almost disappointed. But most of the reporters were pleased with his response. 

The rest of the conference passed in a blur. Steve was still high off a combination of nerves and exhilaration. He still couldn’t quite comprehend what he had said – what he had been allowed to say – in front of dozens of flashing cameras. 

 

He was yanked from his own mind by a voice, and a second later he realised it was Tony. “Can we have a word, just for a second?” Looking up, Steve realised the two of them were the only ones left behind after the conference. 

“Um… sure? What’s up?” He had no idea what Tony wanted to talk to him about, the two had barely spoken at all over the past two weeks.

He watched Tony take a deep breath, and even though Steve knew that this must be something big, he still wasn’t prepared for what came out of Tony’s mouth, “I wanted to apologise for the way I’ve been acting the last week - towards you, I mean.”

_What? What is he talking about?_

Tony clearly saw Steve’s confusion because he clarified, “I’ve been acting like a dick to you ever since last Thursday.” 

Steve hadn’t noticed Tony acting any differently and though he could take things a bit too far, Steve couldn’t think of anything specific Tony had done recently to him. He couldn’t even think what had happened last Thursday, he had been so wrapped up in his research ever since… oh. The News announcement about same-sex marriage had been last Thursday. He had been so wrapped up, he hadn’t even noticed whatever Tony was talking about. 

“I took things a bit too personally.”

Did Tony mean what Steve thought he meant? 

But Tony didn’t say anything else, instead he handed his phone to Steve. It was unlocked and displaying a news article from a ‘newspaper’ that Steve vaguely remembered Pepper waring him about – apparently it did little more than gossip and hit pieces. The article the phone was currently displaying was definitely the former. It was dated from 2003 and, while Steve had known Tony for less than a year, he was unsurprised to see it was a discussing sex scandal. What he was shocked to see, was that this particular scandal involved another man, some actor that Steve had never heard about. 

Steve didn’t know what to say? How were you supposed to react in this sort of situation? He knew how he would react if it was 1930s Brooklyn, but how should he react now?

Thankfully, Tony spared him a response, “I’m pretty used to that being public knowledge. I sort of forgot that you probably didn’t know I’m bi.”

Bisexual. That word Steve knew. It was one of the first terms he had come across when looking at the queer – or LGBT – community in the twenty first century. It was the word that had most stood out to him. Before it had been ‘normal’ versus ‘queer’. Attraction to women or attraction to men. Steve had been an anomaly. Then he found all the modern terms and the black and white was washed away. He found the word bisexual and suddenly he was something. 

And now he was finding out that he wasn’t alone. Tony, _another one of the Avengers_ , was also bisexual. 

But before he could become too happy, the implication of Tony’s previous words set in. He had thought Steve was homophobic, he realised with a start. Everyone in the room would have seen him panic and run off, they all probably thought he was disgusted. 

“It’s okay Tony. I didn’t realise how I must’ve looked to you guys. I think I went into shock, I wasn’t thinking about what I looked like.” The more he thought about it now, the sicker it made him feel. He started rambling out-loud, “A guy from the forties freezing and running off… I would’ve done the same in your position.” He would. Of course, he would. If Steve saw someone react like that to queer couples he wouldn’t even think before jumping to conclusions. 

“I meant all the stuff I said – about LGBT rights.” He needed Tony to know that. If he couldn’t say anything else, he needed to at least say that. He needed to make sure that Tony understood that he meant it. “I’m sorry.”

Tony only shook his head in response, “Not your fault. I should’ve known you better.” Steve knew what Tony meant by that, he knew he was talking about assuming Steve was a product of his time, but for a second, he couldn’t help but think maybe somehow Tony knew. Should he tell him? Could he tell him? Steve wasn’t sure he was capable of getting the words out just yet, and a small part of his was disappointed – almost guilty – at saying nothing.

**Works inspired by this one:**

  * [Questions and Answers [Podfic]](https://archiveofourown.org/works/14886677) by [MidnightMew](https://archiveofourown.org/users/MidnightMew/pseuds/MidnightMew)




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